Characteristics, Properties, and Associations of Self-Assessed Pain Questionnaires: A Literature Review and Prospective Cohort Study Among Dance Students

Abstract

To provide an overview of measurement properties of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Questionnaire (OSTRCQ), pain visual analogue scale (VAS-pain) and Self-Estimated Functional Inability Because of Pain (SEFIP) scale in dance populations, and to investigate the relationship between these questionnaires in pre-professional contemporary dancers. A search of PubMed was conducted and studies were included if they 1) used one of the three questionnaires within a dance population and 2) assessed the reliability, validity, or responsiveness of the questionnaire(s). 134 dance students (67.5% female; 19.4±1.5 yrs) were prospectively followed during 1 academic year. The OSTRCQ, VAS-pain, SEFIP, and injuries were self-assessed on a monthly basis. Pearson correlation analyses and repeated measures correlation analyses were performed to identify possible associations. The literature overview resulted in two studies describing measurement properties of the SEFIP (n=1) and OSTRCQ (n=1). Prevalence of injuries ranged from 23.1 to 42.6%. Weak monthly correlations (r=0.14-0.50) were found between OSTRCQ and SEFIP. Moderate monthly correlations (r=0.54-0.71) were found between OSTRCQ and VAS-pain, and weak/moderate monthly correlations (r=0.30-0.62) were found between SEFIP and VAS-pain. Repeated measures correlation demonstrated a moderate overall correlation between ORSTCQ and VAS-pain (r=0.57), with weak overall correlations between ORSTCQ and SEFIP (r=0.26) and SEFIP and VAS-pain (r=0.34). Studies on measurement properties of questionnaires in dance are scarce. Weak/moderate associations were found between the OSTRCQ, SEFIP, and the VAS-pain questionnaires. Future high-quality research should investigate measurement properties of these questionnaires within dance populations. The results contribute by substantiating choices when developing a surveillance system.